for 2010 is vital to your success. Without this knowledge, you could be left out in the cold. While you can certainly bet that many of 2009’s search trends will continue unabated, 2010 should hold a few surprises in store for you. What can you expect? What does Google say on the topic? Industry experts are predicting several major shifts, so you would do well to prepare for these.

expect keywords to have a lower role. This does not mean that keyword optimization is no longer important, but there will be much more emphasis on semantics, morphology and the actual construction of the query, including synonyms. Therefore, if you want to capitalize on the changes in search functionality and remain in the top of the listings, it’s best to use plenty of on topic synonyms in your content.

social media like Twitter, Facebook and others that provide consumers with the means to be updated instantly, in real-time will become the major players in the new year. While no one is downplaying the success of Twitter and other social media in 2009, 2010 is set to be the Year of Social Media in many different ways, so being prepared now makes plenty of sense from a business perspective.

It’s in the Clouds – Search trends for 2010 will also focus more heavily on the “cloud.” This will include apps, as well as downloadable software and websites that allow consumers and businesses to connect to storage, applications, software and programs to use without having to bog down their hard drive. As the age of the netbook looms closer, expect cloud computing and cloud storage to become the norm for most consumers and even many businesses.

Without the right marketing platform, you will find that it is very difficult to bring in new customers. As you know, new customers are the lifeblood of any business, but this is particularly true in the fluid world of webhosting. How should you market your company? What options should you know about? What are the most viable options out there?

can be great options for marketing your hosting company. Setting up an affiliate program for your company is quite simple and they can provide a tremendous return. These programs are some of the best options because you have no immediate outlay of cash, unlike with other advertising formats. For instance, you will only pay an affiliate their commission when they bring in a customer that takes a qualifying action. Contrast that with the fact that other forms of marketing require cash up front, even for unproven results.

Other options for marketing your hosting company include blogging. Web Hosting Blogs are incredibly popular with numerous people for good reason – it is a great way to open up personal dialogue and establish yourself as an expert in a particular feel. This combination of expertise and personalization ensures that your readers are more than happy to take advantage of any offer that you might have, including signing up for a hosting package through your company.

Social media can be another powerful tool for marketing your hosting company. Social media is one of the most prevalent aspects of Web 2.0 and by harnessing this tool, you can begin to draw in more visitors. You can do this through numerous ways, including starting a user forum, making your website or articles shareable through social networks, providing podcasts or videos and many other options available to you, as well.

Comments Off on Blogging On a Free or Shared Web HostPosted by Web Hosting Wiz

Blogging, or keeping a journal online

has become a popular way to keep friends and family in the loop and let them know what’s going on in your life. For those that are interested in setting up one of their own, there are two choices – to go with a paid host, or a free host. Which should you choose?

is pretty obvious. It’s free! Don’t let that one fact make your decision for you though. It may be a big advantage, but oftentimes it’s the only advantage. Free sites also restrict the amount of space that you will be able to use for uploads. Graphics, music, videos, all of these eat away at that. Paid hosting does have a limited amount of space that you can use as well, but it’s often a much larger amount than what you get with a free site. This means you can upload a lot more family photos and video before you even have to think about how much space you have available.

Paid sites offer more options

for customizing the overall look of your blog as well. They often come with more templates than a free site does, so you can pick a look that fits your personality. With free sites, the selection for templates is either much smaller, or pretty much nonexistent. Paid sites also offer you the ability to use your own domain name with your blog, whereas free servers give you a long website address with their name in it (like www.sitenamehere.com/yournamehere).

If you want to make a good first impression

or have a highly customizable site, then it may be with the small monthly fee to get yourself on a shared hosting server. If you’re not really interested in all of that, and just want a place to store your thoughts.